Fluid-Structure Interaction In Mouth-Breathing Patients

This research uses the flow-solid coupling method to investigate the formation mechanism of mouth-breathing-related malformations. This study developed a fluid-structure coupled finite element model of the upper airway, oral cavity, and intraoral soft tissues in mouth-breathing patients. Using fluid-structure interaction (FSI), we analyzed airflow distribution and soft tissue deformation under nasal, oral-nasal, and oral ventilation modes. Wuxi Stomatological Hospital Medical Ethics Committee approved this study. A fluid-structure coupled finite element model containing the upper airway, the oral airway, the soft palate, and the tongue body of the mouth-breathing patient was successfully established. The pressure and velocity clouds of the upper airway, the displacement and deformation of the soft palate, and the tongue were obtained for different breathing modes.During oral ventilation, the negative pressure in the pharynx is higher, and the downward pressure on the tongue body is also significantly greater than that in the other two breathing modes. In the oral airway, the airflow velocity and pressure during mouth-breathing were higher than those of nasal and oral nose breathing. Mouth-breathing patients had a more significant negative pressure in the palatopharyngeal and epiglottis, and the tongue had the most notable deformation range toward the pharyngeal cavity, which is more likely to lead to airway collapse.